Frequently Asked Questions

The InBody uses bioelectrical impedance analysis to precisely measure body composition by sending multiple electrical currents through the body, resulting in 3 different impedance readings for the trunk and each of the four limbs. The currents are very mild – you won’t feel a thing. 

Depending on the amount of resistance and where the signals meet up will tell you how much muscle, fat, water etc… is in each segment.

It’s suggested that an average person who is reasonably balanced will generally score between 70-79 points. Higher is considered to be highly active and fit, lower indicates a lack of muscle or may be extremely underweight/overweight. And generally speaking, the higher muscle mass one carries and the less fat one carries will lead to a higher score.

However, there are a few points to clarify…

The InBody 570 is a medical device, so it is aimed at general health. If an athletic individual who has done lots of resistance training carries a very high amount of muscle mass for their age, height & gender, then their score may exceed 100, as the score is an accumulation of points and not just a score out of 100.

On the other hand, individuals who are extremely lean and don’t carry much fat – whether it’s due to their body type, lifestyle, diet & exercise habits, athletic pursuit etc.., the machine may suggest that they in fact add fat, and it will reduce their score accordingly.

So we can have a physique athlete who is about to step on stage at 5% body fat have a lower score than your average person who just trains occasionally. The reason is that the machine suggests that the athlete is underweight and would need to add fat to become ‘healthier’.

It’s for this reason that we suggest you take the InBody score as a general guide. Sure we would all like to see improvements in our scores, but for most people, the most important numbers to track changes in are: how much muscle mass you have, how much fat mass you have, and visceral fat score.

The InBody scan breaks down your body composition to measure hydration and analyze lean muscle and fat content. With InBody, we can help you achieve your goals by focusing on fat loss, not just weight loss.

We advise to wear minimal clothing as any extra clothes may affect the body weight. So the best attire is gym wear such as shorts, t-shirt, leggings, light top etc…

We then advise to wear the same or similar clothes for your follow up scan to get the most consistent test conditions from one scan to the next.

The InBody 570 uses bio-electrical impedance to give you your scan result. This means it’s using electricity to travel through your body. The amount and speed resistance tells us what and how much is bone, water, muscle, fat, etc…

Generally, the more muscular an individual, the more water will be in the muscle and the faster the signal will travel, as water is an excellent conductor of electricity. Metal is also an excellent conductor of electricity. Therefore, any metal in the body will enhance conductivity and may lead to a false positive for muscle.

This is where our consultants will discuss anything we can see on the sheet that appears to be metal, we will discuss the result and what our thoughts are.

Breast Enhancement will show up as extra fat in the body’s total, as well as extra fat on the trunk. This then should be taken into consideration when determining what direction to take your training.

This is where a discussion with one of our consultants will be able to answer any further questions around this and what you may or may not need to do to bring about your desired body composition changes.

An InBody scan will cost $40. The price may be slightly cheaper as part of a challenge or if scans are paid for up front but it’s best to ask your club what the cost will be as it may vary slightly.

We scan regularly at most clubs every 12 weeks. Some clubs run challenges that last anywhere from 6 – 12 weeks, so we usually scan at the start and finish.

If you are training for something specific and trying to reach a target, then maybe a more frequent scan would work for you.

The best preparation for a scan is to avoid food & drink for about 2 hours prior to the test, and to go to the toilet before. It’s also best to avoid any exercise before a scan, for at least 2 hours. If possible, have your scan performed at the same time of day, and wear minimal clothing.

The most important part is to maintain consistency and to eliminate as many variables as possible to show you your body composition changes at your comparison. So keep the testing conditions as similar as possible for each scan.

Two reasons – the first being hygiene. Thousands of people have touched the machines, but every single person has used one of these anti-bacterial cloth on their hands & feet before having their scan. This way it is clean for each person.

The second reason is that some people have dry or calloused hands and / or feet. The dryness may reduce the conductivity. So by putting some moisture into your hands & feet it ensures the best conductivity and makes each test similar and reproducible each time.

If you have had a scan with us at any time (since we started in July 2014 when we were known as “InBody Melbourne”) then we should still have your data in our system. You can contact us and we can have a look and get you a copy.

If you have had a scan with any other company then you will need to contact them for your scan results, as each scan you have is saved in that actual machine. However…

If you have had a scan with us since we have started using your mobile phone number as your ID, then all your scans will be on the InBody app, which you can download from the usual app stores. Register for the app with your mobile phone number, and all your previous scans will be there.

And if you have had a scan with another company and also used your mobile phone number, then ALL your scans will sync up on the app.

Please remember to bring your previous scans or app on your phone to each scan, so our consultants can show you all your changes and progressions between scans, which is where you will see the most benefit from doing scans – at the comparison to track your changes.

The InBody app will have all your previous scans so it will enable our consultant to explain your changes in more detail. If you prefer to go with the hard copy and bring that with you then that’s also fine! But the app is more for convenience.

The other benefit is that if you have a scan with another company, and they also have the app capability set up on their machine, then all your data will sync to your app and have every scan in there. Whereas if you have had multiple scans with multiple companies, then your history on your sheet will only be from that particular company.